10 Training and Development Trends Shaping 2024 and Beyond

training and development trends

In the ever-evolving Human Resources landscape, staying ahead is crucial to ensure the successful team an organization needs to achieve results. Therefore, in this article, we will delve into the Training and Development Trends shaping the landscape in 2024 and beyond.

Predict the emerging challenges and anticipate the competencies the team will need to meet the goals.

Skills-based Organizations

Large companies are adopting a model that views work as a set of skills instead of relying on roles that require extensive professional qualifications. This transformation addresses the need for greater agility in skill acquisition in a market evolving at an increasingly rapid pace.

A study conducted by Deloitte with over a thousand HR professionals and executives worldwide indicates that 90% of executives are implementing skills-based practices that change the way a company hires, trains, and develops its team, fostering more diversity by reducing the focus on academic qualifications.

Generative Artificial Intelligence

Although artificial intelligence is already present in many of the applications we use in our daily lives (Voxy’s platform uses AI to personalize learning paths), generative artificial intelligence has made AI much more accessible to people.

Gartner conducted a survey to identify HR leaders’ priorities for 2024, which showed that 68% of executives agree that the benefits of AI outweigh the risks. However, only 22% of executives are actively engaged in extensive discussions about AI’s use in the organization.

See also: 25+ Data and Statistics for your 2024 Training Plan

An analysis conducted by IBM with CEOs highlights the need for a training plan to better harness the potential of artificial intelligence: 69% of CEOs see benefits in AI that span the entire organization, but only 29% say the organization has the necessary expertise for strategic AI adoption.

Tendencias de Aprendizaje y Desarrollo inteligencia artificial

Greater demand for soft skills

The availability of generative AI and the rapid development of professional skills are creating a greater demand for professionals with a strong critical thinking, analytical, and effective communication skills.

This implies a greater emphasis on the development of soft skills, which are now being termed as “power skills.”

A survey by Deloitte estimated that by 2030, two-thirds of all job positions will require intensive use of soft skills.

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Microlearning

Microlearning continues to be one of the dominant trends in the training and development scene. This is due to individuals, increasingly influenced by digital media and applications, having shorter attention spans and seeking instant gratification for their learning performance.

In corporate education, microlearning blends small learning doses with day-to-day work, reducing the time between knowledge acquisition and its application at work to achieve the desired business impact.

Vanity Metrics vs. Business Metrics

Aligning the training plan with business objectives is a prominent trend in the latest editions of this LinkedIn report on corporate learning. It demonstrates a decreasing gap between HR professionals and organizational strategy development.

This more strategic approach to HR metrics requires looking beyond “vanity metrics,” which demonstrate if people are participating in and enjoying training, such as satisfaction rates, participation, and course completion.

Tendencias de Aprendizaje y Desarrollo Linkedin vanity vs business metrics

In the context of training, organizations are increasingly focusing on two business metrics due to the growing need to optimize resources: increased productivity and assessing the return on investment (ROI) of their initiatives.

Some numbers highlight the existing gap between the demand to justify training investment with ROI and the reality. In a recent Voxy event, we asked 350 professionals about the indicators used to measure training effectiveness, and only 11% stated they measure the ROI of their training programs.

In another survey conducted among our audience of training professionals, ROI and productivity appeared after participation and satisfaction metrics. This reinforces the need to progress towards a more strategic measurement of training’s impact on the organization.

Training and Development Trends Voxy

In addition to training aimed at boosting productivity, from the workers’ perspective, it is also essential to invest in the essentials, which is defining clear roles and responsibilities with simplified organizational structures.

This is one of the findings from a McKinsey survey on people and productivity, which showed that this lack of alignment is the cause of inefficiency and low productivity for 40% of workers.

Training and Development Trends

Radical Flexibility

Hybrid and remote work is an irreversible path, increasing the demand for training solutions that can be carried out at any time and from anywhere.

This research titled “The Future of Work” showed that 41% of companies plan to increase their remote hires in the next two years, and 73% foresee that the remote and flexible work environment will continue to grow in the future.


Flexibility and remote work are realities that both employers and workers have already assimilated: in this Gartner survey, 60% of people stated they expect to work remotely at least once a week, compared to only 38% before the pandemic.

Flexibilization is beneficial: when organizations allow flexibility around workers’ individual needs, they make people feel understood and empowered by autonomy, which increases engagement and dedication to work within the company.

According to Gartner, the percentage of workers identifying as “high performers” increases by 40% in companies implementing radical flexibility in work.

Solid Culture in any Work Modality

The increase in remote work poses new challenges for an aspect that was already sensitive before the pandemic: corporate culture.

Distance and asynchronous work require an increasingly solid and actively cultivated culture, reflected through the company’s practices, even in the virtual environment, beyond what is planned on paper.

Although remote work enhances workers’ sense of well-being due to a better work-life balance, the connection, collaboration, and mentorship among colleagues are negatively affected.

These data highlight the need for greater organizational effort to promote a culture that can keep people united in achieving business objectives.

Training and Development Trends


In addition to implementing processes and training to boost team productivity, a solid culture requires the appreciation of principles that unite us as human beings. In this regard, the development of a culture of trust within the organization emerges as a significant trend at the top of executives’ priorities.

PwC’s Trust in Business Survey, which asked executives to mention their main challenges in building trust, places corporate culture at the forefront, ascending to the top compared to the previous year in the same survey.

Training and Development Trends

Despite the awareness of the need for cultural changes, 47% of the CEOs evaluated in this Gartner analysis do not know how to carry out the necessary changes.

The survey provides some clues for disseminating culture in this new context, showing that blending “culture pills” into the day-to-day work of teams (such as in microlearning) can increase employee connection to the culture by up to 43%.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (Beyond Rhetoric)

Generation Z (individuals born between 1990 and 2010) will constitute 27% of the workforce by 2025. For this generation, diversity, equality, a sense of belonging, and commitment to solving climate issues are highly significant.

Diversity training ranks as the second priority for Learning and Development (L&D) leaders, and 41% of organizations have programs to promote diversity, as per the LinkedIn Learning in the Workplace report.

Employees expect companies to demonstrate commitment beyond mere words: 68% of Generation Z workers are dissatisfied with their organizations’ progress in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, according to a Manpower analysis of workforce trends.

The accessibility of virtual training (e-learning accessibility) is also one of the most significant trends in training and development, especially with the adoption of platforms adhering to WCAG 2.1 guidelines, an agreement for enhanced accessibility practices.

Another relevant point for training professionals in the ESG agenda is the acquisition of green skills or sustainable skills. The LinkedIn Global Green Skills report showed an 8% increase in job postings requiring green skills, while the number of open positions for sustainability managers has risen by 30%.

Training and Development Trends

Manpower conducted a study on employment in the industry, indicating that 74% of industries are hiring for sustainability roles and foresee these professionals becoming scarcer. This presents an excellent opportunity for upskilling and reskilling to fill these positions through internal recruitment initiatives.

Self-directed learning, autonomy, and continuous learning in the workflow

With the gradual shift toward a greater focus on skills as the fundamental units of work and the speed at which these skills change, every worker in the organization has a distinct learning path.

Individuals expect learning opportunities within companies, not only to perform their functions better but also for their professional development. The design of the best learning path is increasingly in the hands of professionals, with 80% affirming that they learn “when they need it.”

Learning increasingly occurs in fragments, continuously and is integrated into the workflow, enhancing retention, practical applicability, and the business impact of what is learned.

A deeper focus on wellness and mental health

The need to swiftly adapt to remote and virtual work, the growing demand for increased productivity, and the need to master an increasing array of skills (with workers increasingly responsible for their skill enhancement) can have negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of workers.

A recent survey titled 2024 Large Employer Health Care Strategy showed that 77% of large employers report an increase in cases of mental health issues among their employees, and an additional 16% anticipate a rise in the future.

Skills-based focus and ever-evolving skills offer greater flexibility and agility, but this might mean an even more intense workload for employees, who are required to master a growing number of competencies and technologies simultaneously.

This excessive burden can jeopardize engagement and retention and raise the risk of burnout. A global analysis by Gallup since 2009 showed that while engagement has returned to pre-pandemic levels, stress levels have reached historically high levels.

Training and Development Trends

This is one of the trends in development and training that should be considered in various human resources initiatives to retain a productive and committed team: workers facing mental health and well-being issues are four times more likely to leave the company, according to a McKinsey study.

The well-being and mental health of employees should be considered in defining benefit packages and in the training plan. However, these initiatives do not mitigate the negative impact caused by workload overload and lack of role clarity.

The figures confirm the workload overload, even in leadership: in a study conducted by Gartner with human resources leaders, 75% stated that their managers are overwhelmed and have more responsibilities than they can manage.

For the leaders analyzed, carrying out focused, executable, and sustainable work is five times more important than upskilling, highlighting the need for careful and strategic planning so that development initiatives do not overwhelm the team.

Final Thoughts

In an ever-evolving world, trends in development and training are shaping the human resources landscape for 2024 and beyond. The transition to skill-based practices, the increasing role of generative artificial intelligence, the demand for “soft skills,” and microlearning are redefining how organizations train their employees.

Moreover, strategic alignment of training with business metrics, flexibility in work, a robust corporate culture, and a focus on mental well-being are crucial factors for team success.

Self-directed and continuous learning in the workflow is becoming the norm, empowering professionals to adapt to constant changes.

As we face these challenges, it is essential that organizations be prepared to invest in the development of their teams, not only with the best development plan but also with sustainable workloads and well-defined roles that challenge everyone to deliver their best while maintaining well-being and nurturing a solid culture.


Voxy offers job-specific language training that can unlock your team’s potential. Our digital solution powered by AI and microlearning improves team communication for better results. Schedule an evaluation today!

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